Mark Zuckerberg found himself on the stand yesterday, facing a lawsuit that claims Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook are intentionally designed to hook kids. Before the real legal drama began, though, the judge had to lay down the law about smart glasses, specifically those snazzy Meta Ray-Bans worn by some of Zuckerberg’s team, as reported by Techspot. It seems Judge Carolyn Kuhl isn’t a fan of recording devices in her courtroom, and she made that abundantly clear.
The judge warned anyone wearing smart glasses that using their recording features would lead to contempt of court charges. She told everyone, “If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court.” It’s a pretty serious warning, and it came after at least two people on Zuckerberg’s escort team were spotted wearing the Meta Ray-Ban glasses as they entered the building.
California Superior Courtrooms have strict rules against recording and photography. If you’re caught breaking these rules, you could face monetary penalties, get removed from the courtroom, or even be charged with contempt of court. It’s a big deal, and the judge wasn’t messing around.
This incident just highlights a growing concern with smart glasses: privacy
While Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses are supposed to show a blinking LED when they’re recording, it’s possible to modify them to hide that light. We saw a similar situation in August 2025 when a TikTok user shared her experience at a European Wax Center in Manhattan. She noticed her aesthetician was wearing Meta Ray-Bans, which understandably made her feel a bit “shaken.”
The worker claimed the batteries were dead, and the company later stated their employees keep the glasses turned off during appointments. Still, it just shows how sensitive the public is becoming to these devices and their potential for discreet recording.
Back in the courtroom, the actual case, K.G.M. v. Meta et al., is much more serious than a smart glasses kerfuffle. This lawsuit involves a 20-year-old Californian identified as Kaley, who alleges that her years of using Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat as a child led to severe issues like body dysmorphia, depression, and self-destructive thoughts. TikTok and Snap Inc., which owns Snapchat, have already settled their parts of the case, leaving Meta to face the music.
During his testimony, Zuckerberg did admit that some people lie about their age when signing up for Instagram. The platform requires users to be 13 or older, but that rule hasn’t always been enforced in the same way. Plaintiff’s lawyers presented internal documents from 2015 that showed over 4 million Instagram users in the US were under 13 years old.
It’s interesting to note that Instagram didn’t even start requiring birthdays at sign-up until late 2019. Kaley, the plaintiff in this case, reportedly joined Instagram when she was just 9 years old. When asked why Instagram didn’t ask for user ages before 2019, Zuckerberg said it was due to privacy concerns. However, he never gave a direct answer when asked if Instagram was addictive.
Published: Feb 20, 2026 03:00 pm